BENGALURU: Citizens are bristling at Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s proposal to add an SWM user fee component to electricity bills. The proposal is currently with the urban development department.
“The pandemic as such has affected everyone and people are struggling to pay their bills. This will be an additional burden if implemented,” said Prashanth Kumar, a resident of Uttarahalli.
The idea was first mooted in November 2020, but put on the back burner following opposition. It is now being pushed again, and the primary intention is to mobilise around Rs 800 crore annually towards the city’s garbage management.
According to the proposal, the quantum of SWM user fee will depend on the electricity bill generated.
“We are two senior citizens and have an AC, television, fridge, microwave and geyser in the house, but our garbage generation is barely 30 grams a day. Charging me a hefty user fee just because my electricity bill is huge is incorrect,” said Nandini Surendran, a resident of Hennur.
Seconding her, Vinod Jacob from Namma Bengaluru Foundation said the proposed SWM user fee is not necessary as citizens are already paying garbage cess along with property tax.
“The promised three-way SWM — collection, segregation and composing — is not happening and there is so much scope for development… where is the garbage cess money going? Why not use it, instead of burdening people further,” asked Vinod.
Some resident welfare associations (RWAs) fear the waste management user fee might lead to more violations in Bengaluru. With increased user fee, chances of people discarding garbage in open areas will go up, said Vishnu Prasad, member of Save Bellandur Forum, a citizen group.
“With poor waste collection facilities, commercial establishments are discarding waste in open spaces and burning it, affecting lives of many. This user fee will cause more violations,” added Prasad.
Shivakumar V Naidu, secretary of Domlur Layout resident welfare association, said the civic body is looting commoners. “The middle-class is being burdened and this will lead to major protests in the city,” Shivakumar said, adding: “People will start throwing waste in the streets and empty spaces in order to evade the user fee.”
However, eco-warriors are supporting the thought of introducing user fee, but are against linking it to the quantity of power consumed.
Padmashree Balaram, an eco-warrior and president of Koramangala 1st Block, said the idea of linking SWM fee with Bescom is great, but not with wattage. “Waste generated and power used are not the same in most cases. Connecting these two is not right,” said Balaram. However, implementing user fee will make the SWM wing more responsible for their actions.
Another eco-warrior, Divya Tiwari, principal scientist and adviser at Saahas, an NGO, too said linking garbage user fee to the Bescom bill is good. “People will not stop paying Bescom bills. Thus, they will continue to pay user fee rightly. Other commodities like water can be brought alternatively from water tankers, but not electricity,” Tiwari said.
